Postcard from Bishkek

On March 19th, 1474, a law was enacted in Venice which was pretty revolutionary in that, for the first time in history it provided legal copyright protection for inventions - recognizing the “moral right” of the author and granting them the exclusive right to benefit from the use of their “intellectual property” - at least for a limited time.   

At the time, many scientists and artists believed that claim rights to their works was senseless and sinful, considering that their work did not constitute an act of creation, but represented an example of “divine knowledge”, expressed in a new way and plagiarism was pretty common.

This practice was not universal, however, and the rights to benefit from innovations and inventions  were sometimes provided by licenses granted  by local rulers.  

Others took other measures to protect their “intellectual property”.  At about the same time as the law was being enacted, for example, Leonardo da Vinci was busy creating designs for tanks, parachutes and helicopters, writing his notes in a form of code … in mirror handwriting … and, (according to modern attempts to construct prototypes based on his designs), seems to have deliberately included errors into the drawings as a means of protection, in case someone “stole” his ideas.

Here in Kyrgyzstan, intellectual property rights are protected by the specialist agency KyrgyzPatent.

The Patent Office was established in 1993, under the State Committee on Science and New Technologies – which was later converted into the Department of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Education and Science.  In 1996 it was transformed into a separate government agency and given a wider brief beyond proving legal protection for all objects of intellectual property to include the development of mechanisms stimulate innovation and artistic creativity in the country.

They have a wide range of activities, and initiated some 18 laws as well as a host of standards and codes.  Perhaps one of the most intriguing is the law “On Traditional Knowledge” – which aims to encourage the development and protection of traditional crafts.

Kyrgyzstan has acceded to some 70 international treaties, such as:

• the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,
• the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
• the Madrid Agreement for the Registration of Marks,
• the Patent Cooperation Treaty,
• the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual property, and
• the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks,

… as well as a string of bilateral treaties with Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, China, France, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

International cooperation is a major aspect of their work – learning from experience of others and protecting the rights of foreigners in Kyrgyzstan as well as those of domestic inventors, innovators and authors.

Among the aims and objectives assigned to the organization are:

• The management of property rights of authors, copyright holders, holders of neighboring rights on a collective basis, (pursuant to the authority conferred upon it by the treaties and laws of the Kyrgyz Republic);
  • Keeping records of authors and holders of related rights, users of copyright and related rights;
  • Examining applications for state registration of copyright and related rights, including programs for computers and databases;
  • … including the provision for possible appeals in the event of disputes about registration;
• Promoting the creation of legal conditions for the development of creativity in the field of science, literature and art, within its competence;
  • Administering a system of royalties for the use of objects of copyright and related rights;
  • Handling reports used works by users of copyright and related rights;
  • Collecting and distributing remuneration to the holders of copyright and related rights for the use of works, (in accordance with the laws and agreements on reciprocal representation with foreign organizations to manage property rights of authors and holders of related rights) though the State Intellectual Property Fund, established in 1998 … to date distributing something like 11 million soms.
• Identification of suspected counterfeits;
  • Examining audio and video products containing objects of copyright and related rights for the establishment of suspected counterfeit;
• Promoting the development of licensed products;
  • Concluding licensing agreement with users to grant the right of use of copyright and related rights;
  • There have also been meetings with software companies such as Microsoft to discuss licensing and related issues.
• Interaction with law enforcement and judicial authorities on matters relating to the legal protection of copyright and related rights;
  • Providing expert advice on the current study, audio and video products containing objects of copyright and related rights;
  • Monitoring the level of piracy in the field of copyright and related rights in the Kyrgyz Republic, examining key trends and make proposals to reduce it;
  • Recently, for example, there have been attempts to address the issue of counterfeit tapes, CDs and DVDs on sale at markets and elsewhere.  In theory, legislation has been passed to remove these outlets and restrict sales to established shops which, presumably, can be more easily monitored and “controlled”.
  • Organizing training for law enforcement and judicial authorities on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property, developing curricula, programs, manuals and so on.
• Involvement in the protection of copyright and related rights of the representatives of creative unions, institutions and other organizations on the nature of its activities designed to conduct explanatory work among the authors and holders of related rights holders.
  • To help administer the system they have established a number of specialist councils; of inventors, of authors and of holders of related rights.  These bodies make practical proposals to help the agency fulfill its role.

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KyrgyzPatent operate a Technical Library which apparently holds some 17 million copies of specialist publications: patents, regulatory and technical documentation, technical literature and periodicals.  They also publish periodicals and maintain a website, (in Russian and Kyrgyz), where they describe their activities, legislation and so forth.

Since 1994, when Kyrgyzstan joined the World Intellectual Property Organization, (WIPO), and some 44 “inventors” have been awarded the WIPO Gold Medal for their achievements in science, literature and art whilst 8 inventors were awarded Gold Medals for their inventions.

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